I'm All About You
by kandykane33
Summary: bradin always had a complicated life. when he meets someone that could change it and finds out a secret of hers, will he change his mind about being with her? COMPLETED 3-19
1. Default Chapter

She wants someone who will understand her life. She wants someone who will be not only a helper but a friend. Finally, she wants someone who would love her for who she is on the inside and her family. She knew that it would never happen. Nothing she ever wished for would come true. She never got what she wanted. Her life was messed up.

She sat on the beach staring at the starry sky above the ocean. She was almost seventeen years old and hated her life. Nothing was right. She had no friends. She had no boyfriend. No one cared about how she felt. They all made fun of her. She always fought with her family. She hated it. Only one person loved her. She could always turn to this person for a smile. The only problem was that he was three.

She walked into her house and headed to his room. She saw him sleeping in his bed. She walked up to it and sat down. She ran her fingers through his brown hair. She could hear him breathe softly.

"I love you, Ethan," she said quietly. She kissed his forehead and headed off to bed.

A/N: i don't own anything that has to do with SUMMERLAND. i don't own aaron carter's ONE BETTER either. hope u all enjoy this story


	2. chapter 2

He sat in his room thinking about what he wanted: someone to love. It's the only thing that would make him happy. None of the girls he knew were right for him. They were the total opposite of what he wanted. He wanted someone who would just make him smile just by thinking of her. He wanted someone who brightened his day whenever she spoke to him. He wanted someone who cared for him and was always there for him when he needed them.

"Bradin!" someone yelled interrupting his thoughts.

"What, Nikki?" he yelled back.

"Can you walk me to Cam's? Aunt Ava won't let me go unless you take me," she said.

He groaned, got up, and left with his sister.

"You seemed deep in thought in your room back there," Nikki said to him.

"I was," he said.

"Care to share?" she asked.

He looked at her, shook his head, and laughed. "You wouldn't understand," he told her, "You're only fourteen."

Silence fell between them. They arrived at her friend, Cameron's house and Bradin left. He walked home the long way which was through town. He needed some time to think by himself. He looked around at all of the girls around him. They all looked at him and giggled whispering things to their friends. He rolled his eyes and continued walking.

He soon found himself in a music store. He always went to the music store when something was on his mind. He would usually get a CD that made him feel better. As he looked, a worker walked up to him.

"Depressed again?" she asked him.

This worker knew him too well. She was always there whenever he came in looking for a CD to buy.

"Actually," he said, "I'm sort of sad."

"Hmm," she said.

"What?" he asked with a laugh.

"I have the perfect CD for you," she said, "Follow me."

She led him to the back where the employees kept their things. She went into a locker that looked like it was hers. She pulled out a CD.

"It's my friend's band. They always write sad, sappy songs. The songs might relate to what you're going through," she told him handing him the CD.

"It's your CD though," he said.

"I can always re-burn it," she said, "Take it."

He smiled and took it from her. "Thank you," he said. "What's your name?" he asked looking at her name tag. "I know for a fact that it's not KB Toys," he said.

"It's a nickname that the manager gave me. I use it as a name for work," she said, "But, my real name is Kaitlin. And, am I allowed to know yours?"

"I'm Bradin," he said holding out his hand.

She shook it. "It's nice to meet you, Bradin. I got to get back to work. I hope that you enjoy the CD," she said as she walked out back to the front of the store.

Kaitlin was working with a customer when her manager walked out holding Bradin by the collar of the shirt.

"What are you doing?" she asked.

"I found him with this CD in the back where only employees are supposed to be," her manager said.

"I brought him back there," Kaitlin said, "I made that CD for him. I told him to come by today and pick it up because I promised him that I would make him a CD of songs from my friend's band."

"Why should I believe you?" her manager asked.

"Look at the CD. It's not one that you would buy in a store like this one," Kaitlin said pointing to the CD.

Her manager looked at the CD and noticed that she was right. He let go of Bradin and handed him the CD. "I'm sorry,"

"It's okay," Bradin said. The manager left. Bradin walked over to the door and looked back at Kaitlin. She mouthed 'I'm sorry' to him. He smiled and nodded letting her know that it was okay. He turned and left.


	3. chapter 3

Bradin sat on the beach with his headphones on listening to the CD he got earlier. The band was really good. The songs did relate to him and what he wanted in life. He looked into the water and saw people surfing. He always surfed when he was upset. At the point though, he didn't want to surf. He got up from his spot and walked away.

He continued listening to the CD. He absolutely loved it. As he walked, someone ran into him. He looked to find his friends.

"Bradin!" they yelled.

"Where have you been lately?" Lucas asked.

"Around," Bradin said.

"What are you listening to?" Callie asked taking his headphones off of his ears.

"It's a band called …And Many More. Someone I know knows the band and gave me her CD for me to listen to."

"Are they good?" Lucas asked.

"I like them," he said.

"Who's the person that gave this to you?"

"She's a worker at the music store near the smoothie shop. I always go in there when I need to listen to music that relates to how I'm feeling at that moment. She always knows what to give me whenever I go in there. She's always in there when I go there."

"I think you like her," Lucas said.

"I don't," Bradin defended.

"Yes, you do," Callie said, "You were smiling when you were talking about her. How much do you know this chick?"

"All I know is her name. That's it."

"And, her name is…?" Callie asked.

"Kaitlin," Bradin told his friends. He looked away into a crowd of people and saw her. "And, there she is," he said. He ran up to her and caught her by the arm. "Hey," he said.

"Hi," she said with a surprised sense in her voice, "How's the CD?"

"It's amazing. Thank you," he said.

"You're welcome," she said.

"Are you doing anything later?" he asked hoping for a no.

"Unfortunately I am."

"Oh. Well, what about tomorrow or Sunday?" he asked.

"I have to work and go out and get a dog and the supplies that the dog will need. Then, I'm going out with my family."

"Oh," he said with disappointment.

"I'm sorry," she said.

"Don't be," he said. "Do you think you can call me when you're not busy?"

"Why would you want me to call you?" she asked with confusion.

"You seem like a nice person," he lied. "I want to get to know you."

"I should warn you," she said.

"About?" he asked.

"Once you find out the real me, you won't want to be a part of my life anymore," she told him with some sadness in her voice.

"Are you okay?" he asked worriedly.

"I don't have any friends in life," she told him.

"Why?" he asked. "You're amazing."

"Keep on thinking that, Bradin," she told him, "Once you find out about my life, you'll be like everyone else. You'll make fun of me and want me dead."

"That's not true," he told her, "I would never ant anyone dead no matter how I hate them. And, after what you've done for me since I got here, I don't think I can hate you."

"What have I done for you?" she asked looking at him.

"You helped me get through my problems my helping me pick out music that relates to me and how I'm feeling. Music makes me feel better when I feel the way I do when I go into that music store. You always pick out the best thing for me."

"Look, I really have to go," she told him, "My mom and Ethan are waiting for me at the pet store."

"Can I walk you?" he asked.

"It's better if you don't," she said stopping him from following her.

"Can you please call me?" he asked handing her his number.

She looked at the number that was being held in front of her. She sighed and took it from him. He smiled a small smile.

"Now, go before your mother flips on you," he said.

She smiled and walked away.

Kaitlin walked into the pet store and saw her mother and Ethan looking at dogs.

"Mommy!"


	4. chapter 4

Kaitlin, Ethan, and her mom walked into their house with the dog that they got. It was a small golden retriever puppy. Ethan named it Alex. Kaitlin and her mother let Alex go and run through the house until he knocked something over. Kaitlin and her mother looked at each other.

"I'll get it," Kaitlin said.

"Thank you, sweetie," her mother said as she took the dog supplies from her.

Kaitlin ran into the living room and saw Ethan being attacked by Alex's tongue. She smiled and picked up the lamp that the puppy knocked over.

"Kait!" her mother yelled from the kitchen. Kaitlin walked into the kitchen. "Who was that guy that I saw you talking with before you came to the pet store?"

"You saw me talking to a guy?" Kaitlin asked.

"Yeah," he mother said, "He was cute, too. Did he give you his number?"

"Yeah. He wants me to hang out with him."

"Call him up and invite him to dinner," her mother said.

"Ma, I can't. I don't want him to find out about Ethan. If he does, he won't want to be a part of my life anymore just like everyone else!" Kaitlin yelled.

"You need to tell him before he finds out on his own."

"I'd rather have him do that," Kaitlin mumbled.

"Kaitlin!" her mother yelled.

"I don't want him to know that I was raped and didn't have an abortion because I'm against it."

"You were only thirteen."

"And, I should have had it! But, did I? No! I didn't have it because I would be killing someone!"

"Sweetie, calm down," her mother said pulling her into her arms.

"I hate what life is doing to me. It's killing me, ma. It's killing me," she cried, "I can't take this anymore."

"Doesn't Ethan make you happy?" her mother asked.

"He does. When he walks into a room, I smile because I know that a part of me will always be here if I'm gone."

"Don't do that," her mother said, "We both need you."

"Believe me," Kaitlin began, "I want to do it. It's all I've wanted since I had Ethan. But, he stopped me whenever he came to me and not you."

"You're his mother. He loves you."

"I know," Kaitlin said wiping her eyes.

"Call up that boy," her mother demanded, "You need to get out."

Kaitlin smiled at how determined her mother was to get her out of the house.

"I lied to him, though. I told him that I was busy all weekend."

"Tell him that you lied because you were scared. Don't worry about Ethan. He and I will go out for a grandmother/grandson day."

"Are you sure? What about the puppy?" Kaitlin asked.

"You're father will be home to take care of it," her mother said.

Bradin sat in his house watching television.

"Hello, dear. How was your day?" his aunt asked walking into the room to get to the kitchen.

"It was okay," he said as he searched through the channels for something to watch.

"Nothing interesting happened?" she asked sitting down next to him.

"Not really," he said as he continued looking at the television.

"Bradin," his brother said walking up to him.

"What?" he asked irritated, "What do you all want from me? There's someone that I want to hang out with and she won't hang out with me! She's just like everyone else that I know! She thinks she's too good for me!"

"I just came to tell you that your phone was ringing in our room and I answered it," he said handing his brother his phone.

Bradin took the phone. "Hello?" he asked.

"Do you really think that about me?" he heard. It was Kaitlin.

"Kaitlin, don't listen to what I just said. I was only mad that you said you wouldn't hang out with me. I thought that you said no because you hated me or something."

"I'm scared to hang out with you," she said, "But, I will. Is tomorrow okay?"

"Tomorrow is perfect," he said smiling.

Kaitlin hung up the phone, sighed, and ran her fingers through her hair. Her mother walked into the room and sat next to her.

"Tomorrow at noon, I have to meet Bradin near the board walk," Kaitlin said knowing why her mother was there.

"Ethan wants you," her mother said.

Kaitlin walked into Ethan's room and sat on his bed. "Hey, sweetie," he said.

"Mommy!" he yelled hugging her. She smiled and hugged him back. She let him go and tucked him into bed. "Grandma is taking me to the zoo tomorrow," he told her.

"Really? Will you take pictures of the tigers for me?" she asked.

"Yes," he said.

"What's your favorite animal?" she asked him.

"Hyena!" he yelled.

"The ones from The Lion King that do this?" she asked as he began to tickle him he laughed and screeched for her to stop. She smiled and stopped. She kissed his forehead. "I love you, sweetie," she said softly.

"I love you, too mommy," he said.

"Good night. I'll see you in the morning," she said as she walked to the door. She turned around and looked at her son who had his eyes closed. She shut the light off, closed his door, and went to her own room.

She sat on her bed crying. She didn't know if what she was doing was right in any way. She was really confused and needed help.


	5. chapter 5

"Mommy!" Ethan cried running into her room.

Kaitlin jumped up from her bed and asked, "What's wrong?"

"I was chased by a guy!" he yelled, "He was holding something to my head!"

Kaitlin quickly took him into her arms and held him tightly. "It's okay," she said softly, "It's okay. Mommy's here. Shush." Ethan continued to cry into her shoulder. She came to the conclusion that she would have Ethan stay with her that night. She lied them both down on the bed and placed the covers over them. She held him closely until he fell asleep. Something came to Kaitlin's mind. Ethan just had the same dream that she's had a few nights. Tears fell from her eyes as the thought of losing Ethan entered her mind. She would die if she lost him.

Kaitlin woke up the next morning and felt dry tears on her face. She rubbed her face. She heard someone run into the room and jump on the bed. She looked to find Ethan grinning.

"Morning, mommy," he said.

"Good morning," she said smiling at him. She looked over at the clock on her night stand and saw that it read 10:30. Her mother walked into the room carrying tray of food.

"It was Ethan's idea," her mother told her.

Kaitlin looked at her son and hugged him. "I love you, mommy," he said.

"I love you, too."

Bradin stood at the board walk a little before noon. He was trying to think of things to talk about with Kaitlin. He was nervous and had no idea why. He leaned on the edge of the board walk as he waited and looked into a crowd of people. He saw her and smiled.

"Hey," he said as he approached her.

"Hi," she said with a small smile.

"Hey," he repeated himself. Kaitlin laughed and shook her head. "Um," he began, "I was thinking we could go to lunch and maybe afterwards we could go to the carnival or something."

"Sounds good," she said.

Bradin led her to a small restaurant near the board walk. They were seated, given menus, and ordered their drinks. Bradin looked across the table at Kaitlin who was looking at the menu. She peered up and smiled at him. He smiled back and watched her look at the menu. The waitress came back with their drinks and took there orders. She took their menus and went to give their order to the chef.

"So," Bradin began, "what is there to know about you?"

"Well," she said leaning on the table, "What do you want to know?"

"Everything."

"Start asking questions," she told him.

"How old are you?"

"I'm going to be seventeen in about a month. You?" she asked.

"I'll be eighteen in a few months. What are you into? Like, what do you do?"

"I work at the music store. I play sports by myself to keep in shape since I can't play them for anyone. I can surf but I haven't surfed in a long time. Um, and, I like listening to music."

"Interesting," he said. "I surf for Playa Linda High School. I'm a backup on the team."

"Cool. Maybe I'll come by and check you guys out sometime," she said. "What's your favorite thing to do when you're bored out of your mind?"

"I don't have just one," he told her, "I have tons."

"Am I allowed to know?"

He smiled. "I like to buy and listen to music, go surfing, or walk on the beach are my top favorite things. They make me relaxed." He looked up at her and looked into her eyes. "What do you do when something is on your mind and you need to get it out but no one will listen to you?" he asked.

"I don't do anything. I leave it in my mind."

"Doesn't it hurt to keep it to yourself, though?" he asked.

"Yes. But, no one really cares about what goes on in my life. I don't have friends. Everyone makes fun of me. I only have family who I care about. They're the only ones there for me."

"Then, why don't you talk to them about your problems?"

"They don't understand the pain that goes on in my mind. It does hurt to keep it from them. But, if I explain it to them, I'll confuse them and they won't understand."

"What kind of girl are you?"

"My family thinks of me as a nice girl who deserves to be loved. I think I'm a bitch."

"Why do you think you're a bitch?"

"There are things in my life that people don't know about. When they ask what's wrong with me, I act like a total bitch to them instead of telling them. I'm not the person you think I am, Bradin."

"So far, I'm finding you interesting," he told her leaning on the table the same way she was.

"Now if only others could see what you see in me," she said sitting back in her chair, "I'd be happy."

"Describe your life in one word," he said.

"Shitty."

He laughed at how quickly she answered the question. "Is there anything you like about your life?" he asked.

She bit he bottom lip as she thought of what to tell him. "There's one person that makes me happy," she said, "He makes me smile every time he walks into the room. He always makes me smile when I'm sad."

In Bradin's mind, he thought she was describing someone that she was dating.

"The only problem is that he's three," she said.

"You're dating a three year old?" he asked.

Kaitlin looked at him and laughed. "Oh yes, Bradin. I'm dating someone who is fourteen years younger than me," she said sarcastically as she laughed. Bradin felt like an idiot and began to blush. "You are so cute," she said as she continued laughing.


	6. chapter 6

After lunch, the two teenagers went for a walk on the board walk. They continued to talk and get to know each other. Bradin smiled whenever he saw Kaitlin smile. They always got into whatever it was that they talked about. There was never a dull moment of the day.

"Westerly!" a male voice yelled.

Bradin stopped walking and turned around to find his enemy, Tanner, walking up to him and Kaitlin.

"What's going on, man?" Tanner asked as he studied Kaitlin.

"Tanner," Kaitlin said.

"Hey, baby," he said, "Long time no see."

"Fuck you," she said.

Bradin looked at the two strangely. "You two know each other?" he asked.

"Unfortunately," Kaitlin said not taking her eyes off of Tanner who was moving closer to her.

Bradin noticed that Kaitlin was getting uncomfortable and wanted to push Tanner back away from her. He did the pleasure and pushed him away from her.

"What do you think you're doing?" Tanner yelled pushing Bradin.

"Helping a friend," he said.

"Well, you can help your friend by moving back to Kansas with your parents!" Tanner yelled. Kaitlin looked at Bradin who looked like he was about to break into tears. "Oh wait," Tanner said, "You can't. Your parents are dead!"

Kaitlin saw Bradin begin to cry and run off. She turned to Tanner and screamed, "You bitch!" She ran after Bradin.

"Bradin!" she yelled as she ran after him. He continued to sprint away from her. She wasn't going to give up on him. She knew that he needed someone at that point. And, she wasn't going to leave him. "Bradin!" she continued to yell. She saw him fall in the sand. She ran up to him and knelt down next to him.

"Bradin," she said trying to make him hear her through his tears, "Bradin." she placed her hand on his back and tried to move his head so she could look at his face. "Bradin," she said softly.

He looked up at her with tears down his face. He moved so that he was sitting in the sand next to her. She rubbed his back not knowing what else to do.

"Can I talk to you about something?" he asked looking at her, "And, will you listen to me?"

"Yeah," she said.

He took a deep breath and turned away from her.

"In June, I lived in Kansas. One night near my younger sister's birthday, my parents were called to save the lives of people that were stuck in a flood. They told me to stay home and watch my siblings. A few hours later, the police came up to my house and told us that the river broke through and killed my parents. That's why I live here in Playa Linda. Every day, I wonder if staying home was the best. I blame myself for not going with them."

Tears began to form in Kaitlin's eyes as she heard what happened to his parents. She didn't want him to see that she felt sorry for him through tears. More tears began to run down his face. She placed her arms around him. He broke down completely into her shoulder.

"It's okay," she said softly, "It was a good thing that you stayed home."

He pulled away from her and asked, "How do you know?" while wiping his eyes.

"Your siblings need you," she said, "to protect them from getting hurt and being there for them when they do get hurt. They need someone like you in their lives."

"Someone like me?" he asked, "What is so special about me?"

"You care about people," she said, "When you were talking about them earlier, it sounded like you care about the people in your life. You're a nice guy."

"Everyone says that about me," he said staring out at the water.

"You asked me to hang out with you because you saw something 'special' in me," she told him, "No one, and I mean no one, has ever done that for me. They all look at me, see something they hate, and ignore me for who knows how long, mostly forever."

"Why would people ignore you?" he asked. "You're an amazing person. You seem happy with your life and the way it's going. Yes, you have some things that you want changed, but everyone does. You're nice, kind, caring, and not to mention pretty."

Bradin saw her begin to turn red. He smiled and looked out at the water.

"Thank you," he said. She looked at him with confusion. "Thank you for listening to me and following me," he said, "I don't think any other girl or person would run after me like you did."

"You needed someone. Plus, I absolutely hate Tanner with a passion."

He smiled. "What do you want to do now?" he asked.

Kaitlin looked down at her watch and saw that it was almost two thirty. Ethan and her mother would be gone for a few more hours. She bit her bottom lip as she thought.

"To tell you the truth, I can sit here and talk if that's an option in your head," he told her knowing that she didn't know what to do. "Actually," he said getting up. He held out his hands to help her up. She took them and stood up next to him. "Come on," he said, "Follow me. There's something that I want to show you."

Kaitlin followed Bradin wanting to know where he was leading her. She loved surprises though. They walked down the beach until they came to some rocks.

"This place is called-"

"Spanish Cove," she said, "I know."

"So, you do get out?" he asked.

"Not like I did when I was young. This place changed my life. Something happened here and made me the person I am today," she told him.

"It made you the sweetest girl in the world?" he asked.

"Funny," she said.

"I mean it. You're a sweet girl."

"I'm not going to argue. But, no. It didn't make me that today. Supposedly, I've been like this for as long as I can remember."

"Do you want to talk about it?" he asked looking at her.

"I um, got raped."

_A/N: thanks to the people who have been reviewing this story as well as WHAT DID SHE DO TO DESERVE THIS? i really feel loved and happy. it makes my day to find out that you took time to read the chapter i put up. hope u enjoy the next few chapters!_


	7. chapter 7

Bradin's mouth dropped when those words came out of her mouth. She stared out at the ocean not wanting to look at him. She was scared at how he was going to react or what he was going to say to her. She wanted to cry. But, something stopped her. She didn't know what that 'something' was.

"That's why I was scared to hang out with you. I'm scared to hang out with any guy. I keep thinking that they're going to do what the other guy did to me because I'm 'easy' to get to. Bradin, I'm not easy."

"I believe you," he said. She looked at him to find his gorgeous green eyes staring into her eyes. She didn't know if he was telling the truth to her or not. "And, I will wait until you're ready to trust me. I learned that it takes a long time to trust someone who wants to be a part of your life."

"You want to be a part of my life?" she asked.

"I want to be a friend," he told her.

She looked out at the ocean and thought. "I think I can handle friendship," she said looking back at him.

He smiled and held his arms open. "Hug?" he asked. She smiled back and they hugged.

She pulled away and told him, "I'm sorry to cut today short. But I have to get going. I told my father I'd be home by 3:30 to help him take care of the puppy. I left it with him all day and I felt bad."

"Can I walk you back?" he asked.

She wanted to say no in case Ethan and her mother were back already. She didn't want Bradin to see Ethan just yet. She wanted to wait a few more days to tell him. "Okay," she said.

"Are you doing anything tomorrow?" he asked as they approached her house.

"We're having Aaron Carter at the music store from noon to about three. Then, I have to stay to work until closing."

"Oh," he said with disappointment.

"Why?"

"I wanted to hang out with you again. Maybe we could do something else besides tears and talking. Maybe we can go to the movies or this party that my friend is throwing."

"I would but I can't. I'm sorry."

"Don't be," he said, "I understand."

"So, I will see you soon?" she asked.

He smiled and nodded. He turned around and began to walk away. He turned back around just as she went to go into her house. "Kait," he said. She turned around. "Thank you for today," he said with a smile.

"You're welcome," she said smiling back.

Kaitlin walked into her house and got attacked by Alex. She smiled, knelt down near him, and began to scratch his head. He licked her all over the face because he was so happy to see her. She got up and walked deeper into the house to find her dad in the living room.

"Hey dad," she said.

"Hey princess," he said with a smile, "How was your day?"

"It's was good," she said sitting down.

"Your mother told me that you were hanging out with a boy today," her father said.

"Yeah."

"Did you have fun?" he asked.

"To tell you the truth," she began, "I did. I mean there was one thing I would change. But that wasn't our fault. It was Tanner's."

"Tanner? You saw him again?" her father asked getting angry.

"Unfortunately I did," she said with a sigh, "I wanted to kill him after what he did to Bradin. Bradin didn't deserve that shit that Tanner said to him."

"Do you care about this Bradin boy?" her father asked.

"I do," she said, "I found out something that changed his life worse than Ethan changing mine. His parents died in June and everyone makes him jealous and miss his parents even more. No one listened to him when h wanted to talk about the accident and how he felt when he heard that they died."

"He told you, didn't he?"

"Yeah," she said.

The front door opened and Ethan and Kaitlin's mother walked inside.

"Mommy!" Ethan yelled running up to her with Alex following him.

"Hello, sweetie," she said kissing his forehead as they hugged, "How was the zoo?"

"I saw the hyenas!" he yelled.

"Did they laugh like they did in The Lion King?" she asked.

"No," he said with a laugh, "They were sleeping."

"I'm sorry, sweetie. Maybe they'll be up another time," she told him.

"We saw tigers, too. Didn't we Ethan?" her mother asked him.

"Yes!" he yelled. "One roared and I took a picture of him for you."

"Thank you," Kaitlin said hugging him again. "Ethan, why don't you go play with Alex? I need to talk to grandma and grandpa."

"Okay." He ran up to Alex and ran off with him to the backyard.

"How was your day?" her mother asked sitting down next to her.

"I saw Tanner," she said.

"Did he try anything?" her mother asked.

"He tried to get close to me. But, Bradin pushed him out of the way. Then, Tanner said something and it hurt Bradin more than how he hurt me."

"It sounds like Bradin likes you," her mother said. "I know he cares about you. But, it also sounds like he likes you."

"I don't know," she said.

"Did you have a good time with him?"

"I did," Kaitlin said looking at her mother, "He's like a normal guy."

"Define normal," her father said.

"He someone that doesn't have that many people care about him. No one listens to him. He's friendly, kind, and caring. He also listens to people."

"What's your relationship with him?"

"We decided to be friends," she said.

"Do you think that you two will go out?" her father asked.

"I don't know. I'm still scared."

"Let him see the real Kaitlin," her mother told her, "I think he'll like that side of you."

"I think he already saw it," Kaitlin said.

Night came quickly and Kaitlin thought about Bradin the rest of the day. She lied in her bed thinking of what to do with her life. A noise sounded upon her window. She got up and walked over to it. She gasped to find…


	8. chapter 8

Bradin woke up the following morning and smiled at the thought of Kaitlin. He was mad that she couldn't hang out with him today. He really enjoyed hanging with her. Even if they just talked, he would enjoy her company. He got out of bed, showered, got dressed, and headed downstairs.

As he looked for something to eat, he thought about going to see Kaitlin when she worked that night. He didn't feel like going to the party anyway. The guy throwing the party would hook him up with a girl to have sex with. He didn't want that.

What he wanted was to spend the day with Kaitlin. _Why do I keep thinking of her?_ he asked himself, _She can't be the person that… No._ This was all he could think about.

Bradin sat on the beach that afternoon looking out at the water. He heard a young kid laughing at a puppy that was barking. He went to look to see them playing but got attacked by the puppy. The puppy kept licking his face and jumping all over him.

"Alex! Ethan!" a middle-aged lady yelled running up to them, "I am so sorry. They ran off on me."

"It's no problem," Bradin said with a laugh, "They seem to be having fun." He stood up and wiped off his clothes. "Which one is Ethan and which one is Alex?" he asked.

"The dog is Alex. The little boy is Ethan. I'm Janet," she said sticking her hand out.

"Bradin," he said shaking it. "Do you mind if I play with these two?"

"Be my guest," she said with a smile.

Bradin smiled and began to play with Ethan and his puppy. Janet smiled as she watched Bradin play with the boys. She took out her cell phone and called Kaitlin.

"Hello?" she heard.

"Kait, I just met your friend Bradin."

"Huh?" Kaitlin asked with confusion.

"Ethan and Alex ran off on me and Alex ran up to Bradin and attacked him, in the good puppy way. And now, he's playing with Ethan and Alex."

"What!" Kaitlin yelled into the phone.

"He doesn't know that Ethan is your son. I failed to even mention you."

Kaitlin let out a sigh of relief. "Thank you, ma. Thank you so much."

"You're welcome, sweetie. But, you still have to tell him."

"I know," Kaitlin said, "I have to get back to work."

"I'll see you later, sweetie. I love you."

"Love you, too. Bye," Kaitlin said and hung up.

About an hour or so passed and Ethan, Alex, and Janet had to head home.

"Awe," Ethan whined, "I don't want to."

"I'm sorry dear. But, we have to," Janet said, "We need to make sure that your mother's stuff is done before she comes home after work."

"You're not his mother?" Bradin asked.

"No."

"He looked just like you, though."

"I get that a lot. But, no one knows that my daughter also looks like me."

"You have a daughter?" he asked.

"Yes. I'd tell you more but we really have to go."

Janet, Alex, and Ethan left.

Kaitlin stood behind the counter at the music store.

"Close up," Lucas, her co-worker, said tossing her the keys. He put his arm around his girlfriend, Callie and headed towards the door when someone walked in. "Bradin!" Lucas yelled.

"Hi," Bradin said surprised. "What are you two doing here?"

"Lucas works here," Callie said. "What are you doing here?"

"I know Kaitlin," he said.

"Oh. She's the girl you were looking for the other day?" Callie asked.

"Yeah. Where is she?" Bradin asked.

"Somewhere inside the store," Lucas said, "We have to go. We're going to Mike's party."

Bradin walked deeper into the store as Lucas and Callie left. Kaitlin walked out of the back room and froze when she saw him standing there. He noticed that she had a bruised eye.

"What happened?" he asked worriedly.

"Nothing," she said as she went back to work not wanting to tell him anything.

"Kait, who did this to you?" he asked calmly. She looked at him and back at her work. "Kait," he said touching her arm.

She flinched away and said, "Don't touch me."

"Kaitlin," he said.

"Stop!" she yelled moving away from him.

He put his hand down and said, "I'm sorry. I don't understand who would hit you and why." She looked at him with tears in her eyes. "Don't," he said. He wanted to move towards her. He was stopped by her moving away from him. He sighed. "Please tell me who did this to you."

She placed her back on the counter and slid to the floor holding herself. She sobbed thinking of what happened the previous night. Bradin sat down next to her and gave her enough space to feel comfortable. He watched her as she sobbed. He really wanted to hold her in his arms to calm her down and comfort her.

Kaitlin sat there with tears down her face with so many things running through her mind. She was so confused on life. She didn't know what to do with it anymore. She wiped her eyes and looked at Bradin to find him looking at her with worried eyes.

"This kid Ryan," she said turning away from him, "He hit me last night as well as raped me three years ago."

Bradin tore up inside. The guy who hurt her was back again to get her again. He became scared for her. He moved closer to her and placed an arm around her. He felt her tense up.

"I won't hurt you," he said, "I swear on my life that I won't hurt you."

She fell into his arms and cried into his chest. He wrapped his arms around her and held her tightly.

"Calm down," he whispered, "It's okay. Calm down." He hated seeing her like this. It tore him up inside so much. It broke his heart to see someone like Kaitlin cry like this. A few minutes passed and she pulled away.

"I'm sorry," she said.

"Don't be," he said wiping a few tears off of her face, "It's okay."

"I should close up," she said standing up, "We can go for a walk."

"I'll walk you home. You look like you need rest," he said standing up with her.

Bradin and Kaitlin walked and talked about her problem.

"He seemed like a really sweet guy. He was like my best friend. We were at a party and he had to tell me something. He took me to Spanish Cove and just…raped me. And now he's back and wants to ruin my life again."

He placed an arm around her and placed his hand on her shoulder as he listened to her explain her feelings to him.

"I guess that I was young and stupid and needed to know him longer than a week," she said.

"Don't call yourself stupid," he told her, "You were young and brought into it. That night wasn't your fault. Don't even think about telling me that you think it was your fault."

"I thought you were going to a friend's party tonight," she said changing the subject due to the fact that she didn't want to talk about it anymore.

"I was going to. But, I wanted to see you. "

"Now that you've seen me, you would have rather gone to the party. Right?" she asked looking ahead.

"No. I'm glad I saw you." She looked at him with confusion and wonder. "My friend and I haven't got along that well. I decided that I needed time to myself and needed to talk to someone that understands me and cares about me. I don't care if you were in tears today. You were hurt and I understand that."

They walked up to her house and hugged.

"Thank you," she said.

"No problem. If you ever need me, call me up. It doesn't matter the time of day."

"Same to you," she said as she scribbled down her number on his hand. Small barks sounded inside her house followed by a crash and lady screaming. Kaitlin looked behind her and back at Bradin to find him smiling.

"You should go," he said, "It sounds like they need you inside."

She nodded and turned to go inside. She turned back around to Bradin. "You're not that bad of a guy," she told him.

He smiled. She turned back around and went inside.


	9. chapter 9

Bradin walked into his house smiling. He saw his Aunt Ava and family sitting around the dinner table finishing their dinner.

"Where have you been?" his aunt asked.

"I was out with a friend. They needed my help."

"You should have told someone where you were going," his aunt's co-worker, Susannah, said.

"I'm seventeen. It shouldn't matter to you where I am."

"We NEED to know where you are," Jay said. "What happens if something bad happens to you? What if this person is like Sarah and gets you into trouble?"

"Kaitlin is nothing like Sarah!" Bradin yelled.

"Who?" they all asked.

"Forget it. None of you would understand," he said as he turned and ran up the stairs to his room. He slammed his door telling them that he wanted to be alone.

"What's going on with him?" Ava asked Susannah.

"He's probably going through a stage," Johnny said, "Maybe this girl turned him down after he asked her out."

"I don't think so, mate," Jay said.

"Then, what do you say is wrong with him?" Susannah asked.

"He likes this girl but knows that she has a problem that makes her scared to be around him."

"How do you know that?" Johnny asked.

"I followed him earlier to a music store. He met a worker there."

"This Kaitlin girl, right?" Ava asked.

"Yes. She's nice," Jay said, "But, she had a bruised eye. I'm guessing that something happened to her that made her get that eye."

"What, though? Bradin won't tell us. And, if she's hiding something from him, how much will it hurt him?" Ava asked.

"Who knows? We'll have to wait," Johnny said.

Kaitlin and her parents sat in the living room looking over some things when the doorbell rang. Kaitlin got up and opened the door. A man in his 30s appeared behind the door.

"Are you Kaitlin?" he asked.

"Yes. Can I help you?" she asked.

"May I come in and talk with you and your parents?"

She stepped aside and let him in. She led him to the living room where her parents were.

"Hello," he said, "My name is Evan and I work with Social Services."

"How can we help you?" Kaitlin's father asked.

"I came to talk to you three about your three year old relative, Ethan," Evan said.

Kaitlin looked at her parents with a worried look.

"We have to take him away."

"NO!" Kaitlin yelled.

"We have reviewed the past few years since he's been born. He needs someone who can always be with him every day and not go off to work and hang out with boys."

"I go to work to help take care of me and Ethan! I only hung out with one boy since I've been raped! All of the other times I've been home taking care of him!" Kaitlin yelled.

"I'm sorry. You can't take care of him anymore. You can't have him anymore," Evan old her, "You're a teenager who needs to graduate from high school. You can't have him."

"This is bullshit!" Kaitlin's father yelled. "She has done a very good job at taking care of her son! Yes she had our help at some points but that's because she had to go to work and eat!"

"According to what Social Services told me, someone saw your daughter making out with a guy every day since he was one."

"BULLSHIT!" Kaitlin yelled running up the stairs to her son's room.


	10. chapter 10

Bradin woke up in the morning around ten, got up, showered, and headed to the beach once again. He knew that Kaitlin was busy and didn't want to be bothered. He wanted to wait a while before he talked to her again. She needed some time to herself. He sat there thinking of why Kaitlin was always on his mind.

_She's the one_, his conscience told him, _She's the one that you need to love_. Bradin shook it off and tried to get it out of his mind.

_Don't listen to that part of your head_, his bad side said, _She's the one that you need to use sex for. Every other guy tried but failed. She's waiting for you._

"Stop it!" he yelled to his mind. "She's the one that I need to love," he said out loud knowing that's why he always thought about her when he knew and didn't know her name or was her friend or not. So many things about her ran through his mind at that point.

Kaitlin took Ethan and Alex to the beach with her mother and father.

"Social Services called earlier when you were in the shower," Kaitlin's mother told her, "They're going to give us a few more days to change what Evan told us to. If we don't change, they'll take Ethan away."

"So, I can't see Bradin," Kaitlin said with a sigh.

"I'm sorry," her mother said, "But, if you want Ethan, you can't see him."

"Just when I was starting to have a happy life, it got ruined," she said.

"You like Bradin," she heard her father say.

"Yeah," she said quietly. "Should I call him and break it to him?"

"That would be a good idea," her mother said.

Kaitlin sighed and walked off taking her cell phone out. She dialed Bradin's number and no one answered. She sighed, hung up, and walked down the beach. As she walked, she thought about the previous night and what happened. Tear began to fill her eyes as the thought of losing Ethan entered her mind. She couldn't imagine what she would do if he left her life. He made her happy.

"Kaitlin!" she heard. She looked in front of her to find Bradin. Her heart sped up as he ran up to her. She didn't want to hurt him. "What's wrong?" he asked as he approached her.

"We… need to… talk," she said.

Bradin didn't like the sound of her voice. It scared him a lot. "Okay," he said. They sat down in the sand. "What's up?"

She sighed not wanting to tell him what she was about to say. "Something happened last night and I'm not allowed to hang out with you anymore."

"Why?" he asked. "I thought you enjoyed hanging out with me."

"I did, Bradin. Believe me. But, I have to do this. If I don't, something will happen to the only person who makes me smile. I'm sorry I'm doing this to you, Bradin. I really am."

He looked out at the water not knowing what to say. "If I come visit you at work for a CD that relates to my feelings, will you help me?"

"I will," she told him.

"Can we hang out one more time?" he asked hoping for a yes.

"When?" she asked.

"Tonight," he said, "I don't care what we do. I just want to be near you."

She looked away and thought about what she wanted. "Where do you want to go out to eat tonight?" she asked.

He smiled. "I don't want to go out to eat though. I want to sit here and talk with you for hours."

"We can do that. I just have to go tell my parents where I'm going," she said.

"Meet me back here after you tell them," he said. She nodded and ran off to her parents.

Bradin sat there in the sand staring out at the ocean trying not to cry. Kaitlin leaving tore him up inside. He hated that besides his parents being taken out of his life, Kaitlin was being taken away, too. Kaitlin walked back up to him and sat beside him. She placed her hand on his back noticing that he was crying.

"Not only did my parents leave me, you're leaving me," he said. He turned towards her. "The only three people that have made me happy in my entire life are now out of it. I can't stand what life is doing to me. Whenever I went to the music store, seeing you there made me happy. You always found something that made me happy. Now that we've hung out, I don't want you to leave my life. Being around you makes me happy. Hell, the thought of you makes me happy. Whenever I thought about you, I wondered why I was thinking about you. My mind fought with my heart. Just as you left to tell your parents that you were going to hang with me for the final time, something entered my heart."

"Bradin," she said softly as he broke into tears.

"I love it when you say my name. I love it when you make me smile just by saying hi. I love it when we hang out together and just talk. I love it when I'm near you. I don't know what I'm going to do without you."

"You only knew me for a few days," she said, "I shouldn't mean that much to you."

"Every night in my dreams, I always saw your face. You were always in my dreams. You were the hero of each and every dream that you were in. You saved me, Kait. I don't know how to thank you."

"Saved you from what?" she asked.

"You saved me from falling off of the board and drowning," he said.

He leaned over and kissed her. She felt tears fall from her eyes as she felt his lips press against hers. He pulled away, got up, and walked away.


	11. chapter 11

Bradin just walked away from Kaitlin after kissing her. Tears were down his face as he thought about his life and what he was losing. He hated the fact that someone he actually likes can't be with him. He wanted to know why.

"Bradin!" a female voice yelled. He ignored it. He continued walking until someone ran in front of him and began rambling on. It was Kaitlin. He covered her mouth to shut her up because she was confusing him. "Slow down," he said.

"There's something that you need to know," she said.

Kaitlin's parents, Ethan, and Alex were at home waiting for Kaitlin to return. The front door opened. Kaitlin and Bradin walked in. Kaitlin's parents stood up not believing what their daughter was doing. They walked up to her.

"He has to know why I can't be a part of his life anymore," Kaitlin told them.

They nodded and let them by. Ethan ran up to Kaitlin. "Mommy!" he yelled jumping into her arms. Bradin realized that Ethan was the kid he saw at the beach. He looked at Kaitlin.

"Remember what I told you happened at Spanish Cove?" she asked. "Well, this is the result of what happened. I had Ethan."

Bradin stared at her blankly not knowing what to say. Then, one question popped into his head. "Why can't you hang out with me?" he asked.

"Social Services will take Ethan away from me if they find me hanging out with you instead of taking care of Ethan. They don't think that I've done a good enough job for three years. I can't lose Ethan. I'm sorry I chose him over you."

"That's bullshit," he said, "They can't do that."

Kaitlin wasn't expecting this reaction from Bradin. She was waiting for him to yell at her and call her names and ask why she kept the secret from him.

"I played with Ethan and Alex yesterday for about an hour," he told her, "He's a great kid. And, I'll help you save him from getting taken away from you."

"I don't get you," Kaitlin said.

"He's trying to save you from getting hurt by Ryan," her father said.

"Ryan is doing this?" Bradin asked.

"Yes. He's not allowed to see Ethan. He thinks that since he can't see him, then no one can take care of him."

"And, that's why he hit you," Bradin said to Kaitlin who was in tears at this point, "I really want to help you."

"You can help her by staying away from her for the rest of her life," her father said.

Kaitlin stood there holding Ethan and listening to her parents and Bradin argue. She put Ethan down and ran up to her room and slammed her door.

"Mommy," Ethan said as he began to cry.

Kaitlin's mother picked him up and said, "It's okay, sweetie."

Kaitlin lied in her room thinking of her life. The only thing that entered her mind was something that would hurt everyone in her life. But, she wanted to do it. She couldn't take the tears. She got up, walked over to her door, and opened it to find Bradin holding Ethan. Ethan was crying into Bradin.

"Mommy," Ethan said reaching out to her.

Kaitlin took her son into her arms and looked at Bradin. He placed his hands in his pockets and looked back at her. Neither of them knew what to say to the other. Kaitlin stepped forward.

"I'm sorry," she said.

He shook his head. "Don't be," he said softly.

Kaitlin let Bradin into her room. Bradin sat on her bed as Kaitlin held Ethan in her arms as she lied on the bed.

"He looks so much like you," Bradin said as he looked Kaitlin in the eyes.

"I get that a lot," she said.

"Mommy," Ethan said.

"Yes?" she asked looking down at him.

"Read me a story," he said rubbing his eyes and yawning.

"I can do it," Bradin offered. Kaitlin smiled and pointed to a book that was lying on her desk. He took the book, lied next to Ethan so that he Ethan was in between Kaitlin and him, and began to read Power Rangers.

"He loves the Power Rangers," Kaitlin said.

"I thought so," Bradin said smiling at her.

Kaitlin's parents walked up to her room around ten to see how the three were doing. They found them, all three of them, sleeping on Kaitlin's bed. They looked at each other, closed the door, and left them to sleep.


	12. chapter 12 time to cry

Kaitlin slightly opened her eyes and looked around. Bradin was lying next to her sleeping and Ethan was nowhere to be seen. She looked at her clock and it read 6:00 a.m. She got out of bed and tried not to wake Bradin. She yawned as she left her room.

"Mommy!" Ethan yelled running up to her. She looked beyond him to find Evan from Social Services there with bags.

"What's going on?" Kaitlin asked.

"I've come to take Ethan away," Evan told her.

"NO!" she shouted, "You can't take him!"

"We can and we will," Evan said picking Ethan up.

"No!" Kaitlin shouted again as she followed them down the stairs. Kaitlin's parents stood near the front door. "Why didn't you stop him?" she yelled to them.

"He has to take him," her father said, "No one can stop him. It's his job."

"That's fucking bullshit!" she screamed at the top of her lungs, "You thought differently last night! Why aren't you trying to stop them from taking the most important person in my life?"

"We talked about it last night," her mother told her, "You should give him up."

"Fuck no!" She ran out to try to catch Ethan who was crying hysterically for her. Her father held her by a tight grip.

"Mommy!" he yelled trying to get away from Evan, "Mommy! I want mommy!"

"Come on, Ethan," Evan said placing him in the car as he fought against him.

Kaitlin fought against her father to get to Ethan. She wasn't going to give up on bringing him back. But, as she fought against her father, the car with her son began to pull away. She fell to the floor and cried her heart out. She couldn't believe what was happening.

Bradin woke up to hear screaming coming from downstairs. He looked at a clock and it read 6:03 a.m. He got up and ran once he realized that Kaitlin was the one yelling. He got to the top of the stairs and saw Kaitlin on the floor sobbing with her parents standing around her.

"What's going on?" he asked running up to Kaitlin.

"Social Service came and took Ethan away," her father said.

"What!" Bradin yelled.

"We called them last night and told them that they should take Ethan away. They were right. Kaitlin's only sixteen and can't handle a kid yet."

"She took care of him for three goddamn years!" Bradin yelled, "I think she's done a very good job at raising that boy! He's just like her! Why did you take away her life?"

"We told you that she can't handle a kid," her mother said.

"You're both bitches for ruining her life," he said as he kneeled down next to Kaitlin. "Kait," he said softly placing his hand on her back.

She looked up at him. She had tears all over her face. He tore up and wrapped his arms around her. Her parents realized what they have done, turned, and walked away from the teenagers.

Bradin wrapped his arms around Kaitlin and held her tightly. She sobbed into his chest as hard as she could. He didn't know what to say to her. He didn't want to tell her that it was okay because it wasn't. Nothing was okay at this point. As he sat there holding her, something popped into his mind.

"I'll try to get him back," he said.

Kaitlin pulled away and looked at him. "What?"

"I'm going to get him back," he said, "I don't care how long it takes. I'm going to bring him back to you."

"Why?" she asked. "My own parents don't even think I can take care of him."

"You care about him," he said wiping her face, "He's your life. I don't want something that means a lot to you to be taken away. I don't want you ending up like me."

"I'm already like you," she said, "I lost someone and I won't be able to get him back no matter who tries or how hard we try. Ryan will keep destroying my life along with my parents."

"Do you want to go for a walk so you can calm down?" he asked.

"I don't know what will calm me down right now," she said.

"I do," he said causing her to look at him with a confused face, "Go wash up and change. Then, I will show you what I mean."

A/N: hey guys. what's goingon? listen, i have been gettin requests for a sequal to THE RACING GIRL since kaitlin is moving back. should i continue that story w/ a sequal or no? b/c if u think i should, i have an idea. but thats only if you want me to write it. also, there are seven chaters left tothis story. they are all writen out. i just wanna see what you all think of the chapters one after the other. thanks for reviewing and reading this story. LOVE YOU ALL!


	13. chapter 13

Bradin waited for Kaitlin to get ready so he could get her away from her parents for a while. He knew how pissed she was at them. He saw her coming down the stairs and handed her his hoodie.

"It's kind of chilly out," he said, "I don't want you to get cold." She smiled, took it, and put it on. "Do you mind if I go home and change?" he asked.

"You can go home. I'll stay here until you're done," she said.

"I don't think so," he said, "I don't want you staying here especially after what your parents did. I don't want you ending up in jail for murder."

She smiled at the last thing he said. He placed his arm around her shoulders as they walked out of her house.

Ava sat in the kitchen of her house reading the newspaper and drinking coffee. She was so worried about Bradin because he never came home the previous night. She heard the front door open. She got up, walked into the living room, and saw Bradin.

"Where have you been?" she asked him. He stood aside and Ava saw a girl. Ava looked at her nephew.

"Can you watch her while I go change?" he asked. "If you do, I promise I will tell you why she's here and where I was last night."

Ava looked at her nephew, to the girl, and back to her nephew. "Yeah," she said. She saw Bradin turn back to the girl, say something to her, kiss her, and run up to his room.

"I'm Ava," she said sticking her hand out.

"I'm Kaitlin," Kaitlin said shaking Ava's hand.

"So, you're Kaitlin," she said.

"Yeah. Your nephew talks about me?" Kaitlin asked.

"Not to me," Ava said, "We got into an argument the other day and he yelled your name. No one knew who you were except for someone else who lives here. My nephew seems to like you."

"I guess he does," Kaitlin said.

"Do you want something to eat or drink?" Ava asked.

"No thank you," Kaitlin said shaking her head.

Bradin was coming down the stairs when he heard his aunt talking to Kaitlin.

"Did you and Bradin do anything?" his aunt asked.

"No," Kaitlin said.

"Then, why didn't Bradin come home last night? He was with you."

"I know," Kaitlin said. Bradin could tell by the sound of her voice that she was going to break into tears. He walked into the room, up behind Kaitlin, and placed a hand on her shoulder.

"Something happened to Kaitlin a few years ago and it resulted in a little boy. Social Service threatened to take him away from her. She had to either give up hanging out with me or Ethan, her son. She gave up me because Ethan meant more to her. I understood that but wanted to hang out with her one final night. I didn't know of Ethan until after she told me that she couldn't see me anymore."

Bradin felt Kaitlin take his hand as she began to cry.

"I fell asleep reading Ethan a story. When I woke up, he was gone and Kaitlin was sobbing her eyes out. Social Services came and Took Ethan away from her. Her parents called Social Services and told them to take him away from her. That's why we're here now. I needed to keep her away from her parents for a while."

Ava looked at Kaitlin who was now bawling tears. Kaitlin covered her face up with her hands as she cried harder.

"I'm so sorry, Kaitlin," Ava said. Ava really wanted to say something else at that moment. But, she held it in because she didn't want to make Kaitlin more upset.

"I'm sorry for everything, Aunt Ava. But, Kaitlin needed someone. And to repay her for what she's done for me, I stayed with her and helped her out," Bradin said.

"I understand," Ava said. She looked at Kaitlin and took her hand. "I'd like to get to know you," she said, "Even though you have a son, you seem nice. I would like you to come to a party that we're throwing tonight. If you don't show, I would like to have you for dinner one of these nights."

"I'll see how I feel tonight," Kaitlin said.

"Okay," Ava said. "So, you two are just friends?" she asked.

Bradin and Kaitlin looked at each other. "Yeah," they said looking at her.


	14. chapter 14

Bradin and Kaitlin sat on the beach in silence. Neither of them knew what to say. People walked near them and said hi to Bradin. He just smiled and nodded. Some people sat down near them and talked to Bradin.

Kaitlin turned to Bradin and said, "I'm going to go," and stood up.

"Okay," he said standing up with her ignoring the people he was talking to.

"Stay," she said, "Talk to your friends."

"I don't want to stay with them. I want to stay with you."

"Bradin," she said, "I don't want you wasting your time today. All I'm going to be doing is crying and feeling like shit."

"I don't care."

"But, I do," she said pointing to herself, "Stay with them. You need to be with friends."

"So do you," he said grabbing her hand as she turned to walk away.

"What friends?" she asked turning towards him. "I don't have any friends."

"You have me," he said.

"I can't believe that you don't get it," she said.

"Get what?"

Kaitlin sighed. "Stay here and don't follow me."

Kaitlin walked away leaving Bradin confused. He wondered why she was acting this way towards him. He wanted to help her. He wanted to be there for her when she cried over Ethan again. He wanted to hold her and kiss her tears away.

He watched her walk away. She had her arms folded in front of her as she had her head lowered to look at the sand beneath her feet. He wanted to run after her. Yet, he didn't want her mad at him. He decided to follow her without her seeing him.

Kaitlin sat near Spanish Cove thinking about her life. She sat with her legs bent, arms resting on her knees, and chin resting on her arms as tears ran down her face slowly. She moved her head so that her face was being buried in her arms. She broke down. She really wanted to die now that she wasn't able to have Ethan anymore. He was her life. He was everything to her. she never thought that he would actually be taken away from her.

She felt a hand touch her back. She jumped, looked behind her, and saw Bradin kneeling down. "I told you to leave me alone," she said.

"You expect me to sit back and watch you go through this alone?" he asked. "That's not going to happen." She groaned and got up. Bradin sighed and followed her. "Kaitlin!" he called after her. She wouldn't stop walking away from him. He ran up to her and grabbed her arm to turn her around.

"Get off me," she said trying not to yell through her tears.

"Kaitlin, stop," he said, "I'm trying to help you."

"I don't want your help," she told him, "I don't want anyone's help."

"You need someone," he told her, "They don't have to help you. They can just be here for you when you cry and need to get feelings out."

"And, that person is you," she said knowing why he was saying what he was.

"I want to be," he said.

"I don't want your friendship," she said.

"What?" he asked with confusion.

"I don't think that this friendship is going to work out!" she shouted. "When you came into my life, all of this shit with Ethan began! He's gone all because you wanted to form a friendship with me!"

"Kaitlin," he said.

"No!" she yelled pushing him away, "Stay away from me!" She ran off.

"Kaitlin!" he yelled. Knowing that she wasn't going to turn around, he sighed. He just lost someone that he wanted to be with. He walked home.

"Hey, sweetie," Ava said. He just looked at her with a sad look and continued walking further into the house. "What's wrong?" she asked.

"Nothing," he said.

"Bradin, I know when you lie," she told him, "Something is up."

"I don't want to talk about it," he said.

"Get ready for the party tonight," she said.

"I'm not going."

"Why?" she asked. "You've been looking forward to this for months," Ava told her nephew.

"I don't care!" he yelled, "I'm not going!"

He ran up the stairs to his room and slammed his door.


	15. chapter 15

Bradin lied on his bed during the party being held at his house that night. The music was loud. People were all over his house making so much noise. It made him so mad because he couldn't think straight. He wanted to get Ethan back into Kaitlin's life to make her happy. He needed to think of a way, though. He hopped onto his computer and looked up Social Services of Playa Linda.

"Bradin!" someone yelled knocking on his door. He ignored them. He didn't want to talk to anyone just yet. "Bradin!" they yelled again. Anger grew inside of him making him sand up and swing open the door. There stood Johnny holding a hoodie. "Your one girl friend came by and dropped this off," Johnny told him.

"Is she still here?" Bradin asked.

"Your aunt is talking to her."

Bradin ran passed Johnny and down to the party. He stopped at the bottom of the stairs and saw his aunt talking to Kaitlin who looked upset.

"Kaitlin!" he yelled. She looked, turned back around, and ran away. "Kaitlin!" he yelled running after her.

He got to his back patio and ran through it to the party. He saw Kaitlin being held by the arms by someone he couldn't see. All Bradin could see was the back of the guy's head. Kaitlin scrambled to get out of the guy's grip which was too strong for her. He slowly walked up to them wanting to see what was happening or going to happen. Kaitlin was thrown to the ground. Bradin ran up to the guy and turned him around. Tanner. Anger grew within Bradin's body worse than before. He punched Tanner with all he had causing everyone too look at them.

"Bradin!" Ava yelled running up to them with Jay and Johnny.

Tanner punched Bradin back harder than Bradin punched him. Jay and Johnny separated the two boys.

"What's going on here?" Johnny asked.

Bradin looked over at Kaitlin who was standing with his aunt. She looked terrified. He looked back at Tanner who was about to break through of Johnny's grip.

"Are any of you going to speak?" Johnny asked.

"I cheated on Tanner with Bradin," Kaitlin said. Everyone looked at her. Bradin and Tanner looked at her with confusion.

"Are you lying?" Jay asked.

"No," she said. She looked at Bradin one final time and made her way through the crowd to leave.

"That's not what happened," Susannah said, "Tanner threw her to the ground. I saw it all."

"Why would she lie?" Ava asked.

"So, you think hurting her will make her come to you?" Jay asked Tanner.

"Jay don't," Ava said.

"You disgust me," Jay said, "Now get out of here."

Bradin got away from Johnny's grip and ran off in the direction that Kaitlin went in. He looked in every direction until he saw her walking slowly. He ran up in front of her and stopped her from walking. She looked up at him with tears in her eyes.

"I told you to leave me alone," she said looking into his eyes.

"What did he do before he threw you to the ground?" he asked. "Please tell me. I promise you that I won't go after him again. I only want to know why he threw you to the ground and why you lied to everyone back there."

"I lied because I didn't want you to get in trouble," she said. She sighed not wanting to tell him what happened before Tanner threw her to the ground.

"You don't have to tell me about Tanner," he said, "I know it's probably personal. I don't want to force you to tell me."

"We got into an argument about three years ago," she told him. "Um, he's Ethan's father."

Bradin stared at her completely shocked. "I thought some Ryan guy raped you," he said.

"Yeah. Tanner's middle name is Ryan. I always called him Ryan instead of Tanner unless we were around people. I'm sorry for what I said to you earlier. I'm sorry for kind of lying to you. I'm sorry for the way I acted. I'm sorry for everything. I really like you, Bradin. But, I can't stay in your life. I don't want to make your life worse or hurt you more than I already have. If you still come to the music store when I'm there, then I will still help you. I can't hang out with you anymore though. I-"

Her apology got interrupted by Bradin's lips pressing against hers. When he pulled away, they looked at each other.

"I wanted to kiss you one final time since we won't be able to be with each other," he said.

She didn't know what to do. "I… have to go," she said, "But, before I go, there's something that I want to tell you. Thank you, Bradin. Thank you for the past few days."

"You're welcome," he said quietly. They wrapped their arms around each other and embraced in a hug. Kaitlin could feel tears fall onto her neck. She pulled away to find Bradin crying. He tried to wipe the tears away so she wouldn't notice. This made her laugh. "Stupid right?" he asked.

"I find it cute," she said. He smiled. She kissed him softly on the lips and then said, "Good-bye, Bradin."

He didn't want to say good-bye. He said nothing. She turned and walked away from him. He turned around to find his aunt standing there.

"It's hard to say good-bye," she said.

"I know," he said looking back in the direction that Kaitlin walked in, "I didn't think I would have to say it again, though."

"Are you still going to help her find her little boy?" Ava asked.

"Of course," he said, "I want her to be happy."

"What's so different between her and Callie?" she asked him.

"Kaitlin listens to me and runs after me to make sure that I'm okay when I'm upset. Tanner mentioned my parents a few days ago and it got me upset. She ran after me and listened to my feelings. No one has done that, not even Callie."


	16. chapter 16

Kaitlin was curled up on her bed thinking if letting Bradin go was right. She really did like him and wanted to be with him. She felt like absolute shit after saying that he was the reason that Ethan was taken away from her. She lost the only person in her life that cared for her and actually liked her. She cried herself to sleep.

Bradin sat at his computer continuing his search for Social Services. Every site he went to was for Social Services in other states. Hours passed and Bradin still couldn't find what he was looking for.

Ava woke up the following morning and went to her nephew's room. She's been worried about him since the previous night. She opened the door slowly so she wouldn't wake Derrick or Bradin. She found Bradin by his computer sleeping.

"Bradin," she said quietly and shaking him lightly. He jumped and looked around. He rubbed his face and tried to wake up. "Go lay down on your bed," Ava said.

"No," he said, "I need to find him as soon as possible."

"I'm sure Kaitlin will survive a few days. She wouldn't want you doing this and not getting the rest that you need."

Bradin knew that his aunt was right. He looked at the clock and saw that it was 8:00 a.m. "Wake me up at noon," he said getting up and walking over to his bed, "I'm not going to give up on this."

Ava walked back downstairs and saw Johnny in the kitchen with Susannah.

"How is he?" Susannah asked.

"He's determined to find that boy," Ava said, "I don't think anything is going to stop him."

"He likes this girl," Johnny said, "Of course he won't give up."

"How would you know if he likes her?" Susannah asked.

"He cried when she said good-bye to him last night," Ava said, "He also fought over her last night with that Tanner."

"Everyone fights with Tanner," Jay said walking into the house, "Tanner is a tough guy who fights anyone who disagrees with him."

Badin's Dream:

Bradin and Kaitlin ran up to the Social Services building and up to the front desk.

"Can I help you?" the lady behind the desk asked.

"We're here to talk about my son who was taken away from me," Kaitlin said, "I want to know where he is."

"I'm afraid we can't tell you," she said, "It's private information."

"I'm his mother!" Kaitlin yelled. "I should have the right to know where he is!"

"I'm sorry. We can't give you any information," she told Kaitlin.

"Fuck this shit!" Kaitlin yelled. Bradin placed a hand upon her shoulder to calm her down. She turned towards him and glared at him.

FLASH FORWARD:

Bradin ran up to Kaitlin's house. Her mother called him to tell him that Kaitlin was destroying her room and trying to do bad things to herself. He didn't bother to ring the doorbell or knock. He opened the door and ran inside. He found Kaitlin sobbing as she threw a desk onto the ground.

"Kaitlin!" he yelled running up to her. He tried to grab her to stop her from breaking anything else. "Kaitlin," he said calmly as he wrapped his arms around her tightly to calm her down. She fought against him and tried to get away. After a few minutes, she gave up and sunk into him.

"He's gone," she whispered.

"Who?" he asked pulling away and looking into her eyes, "Who's gone?"

"Ethan. He's dead," she cried.

Bradin shot up from his bed. He looked at the clock next to him. It read 1:00 p.m. He got up, got dressed, and ran out of the house. He was mad that no one tried to wake him up at noon like he asked.

Kaitlin sat on the beach listening to music. The sun glared on her. She could feel her back starts to burn. She lied down and sighed. She sat back up and turned towards her bag. She felt someone remove her headphones from her ears. She looked up to find Lucas smiling down at her.

"Hey," he said sitting beside her.

"Hi," she said.

"I heard what happened last night," he told her, "Bradin ran out of his house earlier and no one knows where he is. He was up late last night trying to find Social Services and get Ethan back for you."

"What?" she asked looking at him.

"I called his house around two. His aunt said that he ran out of his room about 1:30 and hasn't been seen or heard from since. Everyone thinks he's at Social Services to get Ethan back to you."

THAT NIGHT

Kaitlin sat in her house thinking of what Lucas told her earlier on the beach. She couldn't believe that Bradin meant what he said about bringing Ethan back to her. The doorbell rang interrupting her thinking. She got up and opened the door to find Bradin and cops behind him. She looked at him confused.

"Social Services didn't take Ethan," Bradin told her.

"What?" she asked with confusion. "They came by and took him out of my arms. He even had the proof that he worked there."

"No," a cop said, "Someone set that scam up just to take him away from you."

"But, my parents called there and told him to take him away. They knew that Ethan would be taken away."

"They were scamming you, Kait," Bradin said, "Ethan's in trouble." Kaitlin's heart dropped and tears formed in her eyes. "Help us find him," Bradin said taking her hand, "If you do, the police agreed that Ethan will live with you until he's older and able to move out."

She nodded, put some shoes on, and left with the cops and Bradin.


	17. chapter 17

Kaitlin and Bradin ran up to Tanner's house and pounded on the door. Lucas answered it.

"Bradin!" he yelled, "Where have you been?"

"Where's Tanner?" Bradin asked.

"I don't know," Lucas said, "He and I made a deal to stay out of each other's business and the other won't get hurt. Kaitlin!"

"How could you not know where your own brother is?" Kaitlin screamed, "He has my son with him and is going to kill him!"

"Your son? Why would he have your son? You're a mother?" Lucas asked.

"This is no help," Kaitlin said turning and walking away followed by Bradin. Kaitlin walked up to the police car and pounded her fist on the top. "Fuck!" she yelled. She stood there trying to figure out everything that was going on.

"Do you know where else he might be?" one of the cops asked her.

Kaitlin stood there leaning on the car thinking. She felt an arm wrap around her shoulders. She looked next to her at Bradin and back at her hands. She rested her head on her arms and began to cry. She was lost and confused at this point. She knew that she wasn't going to see Ethan alive again, especially when Tanner is the person who has him. She tried to think of places where he could be.

"Anyone have a jet ski?" she asked.

Bradin looked at the cops who nodded and back at Kaitlin.

The cops drove the teenagers to a dock where there were jet skis. Kaitlin turned to them. "I'm going to go on a beach that is on the other side of that cliff," she said pointing to a cliff a mile away, "You three should get back up and meet me there after I've been gone for a few minutes."

"You shouldn't be going there alone," a cop said. Then, he pointed to Bradin and said, "Have him go with you."

"No," she said, "I don't want him getting hurt again."

"It'll be worth it," Bradin said looking at her, "Let me go with you. Please."

"I don't want you killed," she said through her teeth.

"I don't want you injured," he said.

"Do what I said. Meet me over there," she said as she headed to a jet ski, "And, I know that you're only doing this because you feel sorry for me."

Bradin watched as she rode off on the jet ski. "I'm doing this because I love you and want you happy," he said out loud.

"Follow her," a cop demanded, "Get on a jet ski and follow her."

Bradin did as the cop said. He wasn't going to lose Kaitlin again. He hopped onto a jet ski and went after Kaitlin.


	18. chapter 18

Kaitlin got off of her jet ski and brought it to shore so it wouldn't float off into the water. She walked around the beach looking for Ethan and Tanner. It looked deserted. She took small steps and took a good look around.

"Mommy!" she heard a young voice yell. She looked in the direction it came from and saw a fire. She ran in that direction.

BRADIN

Bradin walked on the beach and up to a fire he saw burning. As he walked, he saw a small figure running towards him. He thought that he heard it crying. He stopped and the figure grabbed his legs. He knelt down and saw that it was Ethan. Bradin knelt down next to Ethan and looked at him. He has a bruise on his eye. Anger grew inside of Bradin.

"I want my mommy," Ethan cried.

Bradin held Ethan in his arms for a few seconds before getting up and running towards the direction Ethan came from. They came to a spot where Bradin noticed a struggle took place. He put Ethan down.

"Can you stay here for me?" he asked Ethan. "I'm going to get your mom."

Ethan nodded. Bradin ran towards where he thought Kaitlin might be. He saw two figures in the distance. He walked up to them and saw another figure lying on the ground. It was Kaitlin on the ground. He looked up at the figures and saw Tanner fighting his brother Lucas. Bradin jumped in and joined the fight.

"What the fuck?" Tanner asked, "Why are you guys sticking up for the bitch?"

"She's not a bitch," Lucas said.

"She was easy to have sex with," Tanner said with a smile.

"She didn't want to have sex!" Bradin screamed, "You forced her to do everything! Now you're trying to ruin her life after three years of being a mother!"

"He's my son and I can't see him," Tanner said, "I should be able to see him and teach him everything I know."

"That will be bad," Lucas told his brother, "Kaitlin has done a fine job raising Ethan the way she has."

"You didn't know that she had a son until earlier," Tanner said.

"I don't care. Kaitlin deserves Ethan more than you. Ethan deserves Kaitlin more than you. Hell, everyone deserves Kaitlin more than you."

"Fuck off bro!" Tanner yelled punching Lucas.

"Mommy!" Ethan yelled running up to her.

"I told you to wait over there," Bradin said kneeling down next to him.

"A guy held a gun at me!" he cried.

Bradin looked behind Ethan to find a friend of Tanner's with a gun pointing at Ethan.

"If I can't have Ethan," Tanner began, "no one can."

Lucas attacked his brother. Bradin watched as the brothers fought and looked back at the guy with the gun. It was being held right at his forehead. He swallowed hard.

"Ethan," he began, "Go wait by mommy. Don't move from that spot."

Bradin let Ethan go and he ran to Kaitlin's body screaming for her to wake up. Bradin stood up and said, "Shoot me."

"What?" Lucas asked before getting hit by his brother making him hit the ground hard.

"Shoot me," Bradin said, "I'd rather have them live than me."

Tanner looked at his friend and back at Bradin. "So, Westerly will finally join his parents," he said walking up to his friend.

_BANG!_


	19. FINAL CHAPTER

The water was calm. Bradin sat on the beach looking out at the water with his surfboard at his side. He knew the waves weren't going to happen today. Ever since the gunshot went off, he's been different. He ignored everyone that has tried to call him as well as trying to talk to him. He lied back in the sand.

He felt a small body jump onto his stomach. He jumped. He smiled when he saw a smiling three year old on his stomach with a huge smile on his face.

"He missed you," he heard. He looked behind him to find Kaitlin's parents standing there. "How are you doing?" her mother asked.

"I could be better," he said. "How are all of you?"

"We're hanging in there," her father said. "Are you upset about Kaitlin?"

"Of course I am," Bradin said, "Since she left to that special doctor in San Diego, I haven't been myself. Why did she have to go all the way there?"

"The doctor can help her with what happened between her and Tanner," her father told the boy, "Kaitlin usually feels better when she talks about her problems. She should be back in a few days."

"I can't wait a few days," the boy said, "I need to see her now. I haven't seen her in two weeks."

"I thought you weren't supposed to see her?" her mother asked.

"I'm not," Bradin said looking out at the water, "I don't care what my aunt says. I love your daughter and I won't kick her out of my life because my aunt thinks she's a bad influence. Kaitlin didn't put me in the situation that day. I put myself there."

"What actually happened the day of the shooting?" Kaitlin's mother asked.

"Kaitlin, two cops and I went to go find Ethan. I found out that Social Services didn't take Ethan away and it was someone scamming you guys. Kaitlin rode a jet ski to a beach and the cops told me to follow her when I wasn't supposed to. I found Ethan and went in the direction that he ran from. I saw Tanner and his brother fighting and Kaitlin lying in the sand motionless.

"I began to fight Tanner when Ethan said a guy was pointing a gun to his head. One of Tanner's friends had a gun. I told him to shoot me. Then, the gun was held at me. I heard the gun go off and thought that was it. I was dead. But, I looked and saw a cop pointing a gun away from me and Tanner and his friend. He shot Tanner's friend and arrested Tanner as well as his friend."

"You don't care that she has Ethan?"

"Not one bit. Ethan is an amazing kid. You helped Kaitlin raise him well."

Bradin got up and walked away without saying a word.

Bradin's house

Bradin sat in his living room on his couch with his face covered.

"How are you doing?" Jay asked sitting next to him.

"Not so good," Bradin said, "Life is so complicated. My aunt won't let me be with the girl that I can truly be myself around."

"Don't listen to your aunt," Jay told him, "If you listen to her, then you won't be happy at all in your life. Do what your heart wants, Brae. You want this girl. Get her before it's too late."

"I can't believe I'm letting my aunt control my life right now. I disobeyed her when I was with Sarah. I disobeyed her when I did crazy things other than sex with Sarah. Why am I letting myself start now?"

"Good question. I was wondering the same thing," Jay said before leaving him alone.

NIGHT

Bradin sat in his room surfing the internet. Everything he looked up was about Valentine's Day. He was sick. All he could do was think of the special day coming up and he wouldn't spend it with anyone.

"Bradin," his aunt said opening the door to his room, "this came in the mail for you."

She handed him an envelope. He took it and read what the outside said. It had his name and address on it. He opened it and took out what was inside. He smiled once he saw that it was a Valentine's Day card. He opened it up and a folded piece of paper fell out. The card said Happy Valentine's day. He opened the paper up and read what was written.

"Hey Bradin. How have you been since… you know? I could be better over here. The doctor has helped me so much. He says that if I stay and talk about it for a few more days, I'll be able to come home. Yes I'm excited because there's something that I wanted to talk to you about. One of the cops told me what you said before you left. He told me what you said, which I believe was 'I'm doing this because I love you.' Is that right? My parents told me that whenever they see you, you look really sad. I thought that this card could cheer you up a bit. Those are some things I wanted to talk to you about in person. I have to go and talk to the doctor now. Hopefully I can talk to you soon. Bye! Kaitlin"

Bradin smiled as he finished the letter. He sat back in his chair and looked at the card. There was a heart with a kissy face on it. He knew that Kaitlin missed him just like he missed her. He looked at a picture of her that her parents gave her. He ran his finger over the picture on her cheek then over her smile. Ethan was in the picture with her. You could tell that he was her son.

Bradin sat on the beach with his younger sister and brother. They sat there talking about their parents and how much they missed them. Every other week, they would come and sit on the beach to talk about missing their parents. It helped them out a lot. After an hour or so, Nikki and Derrick decided to head in and get ready for bed while Bradin stayed outside to think. He soon began to cry.

"Do you need a shoulder to cry on?" he heard a familiar female voice ask. He turned to his side to find Callie standing there.

"No," he said standing up, "I'm fine."

"Bradin," Callie said as he began to walk away, "Everyone is worried about you."

"I don't care," he said, "I need someone in my life that will actually listen to me since Kaitlin can't anymore."

"Why are you always thinking bout Kaitlin?" she asked him.

"She made me who I am right now. Before I met her, I drank, smoked pot and weed, and basically did drugs as I partied. When I met her, I became… the total opposite."

"Do you like that you changed?"

He sighed not knowing the answer to the question. "I think I do," he said.

DAYS LATER

Bradin still felt upset and alone, just like he did when his parents died. He began to act the same way to. He drank and smoke when no one older was around. One afternoon, he sat on the beach drinking some beer not caring about anything anymore. He decided that he should go to the music store and get a CD since he hasn't gone in weeks.

Walking to the store brought back memories, the memories he had with Kaitlin mostly. He walked in and looked around.

"Bradin!" Lucas yelled, "What's up my man?"

"Nothing," Bradin said. He went to look for music that was similar to how he felt. He didn't know what he was looking for.

"Try this," Lucas said handing him a CD by Maroon 5, "It's awesome."

"Hell no. I hate that band," Bradin said.

"What about Britney's CD?"

"Not into that anymore," he said.

"50 Cent? G-Unit?"

"No," Bradin said with a sigh.

"What is wrong? You like those people," Lucas said.

"He needs this," someone said. Both guys turned to find Kaitlin holding up a CD from a band called …And Many more. "The same band that I gave to him weeks ago," she said.

Bradin ran up to her and hugged her tightly. "What are you doing here? I thought you weren't coming back for another month," he said pulling away.

"I progressed a lot," she said, "The doctor wants to see how I'll do spending a few days here taking care of Ethan and seeing how you're doing."

"I became a whole lot better," he said kissing her.

"Take it out of here." Lucas said pushing the two towards the door.

Kaitlin and Bradin sat on the beach in silence.

"Why are you so quiet?" he asked running his hand over her cheek.

"I don't know what to say."

"Are you happy to be back?" he asked.

"Kind of," she said, "I'm happy that I came back because of the people." She looked at him. "I heard you weren't supposed to see me anymore," she said.

"I'm not supposed to."

"Then why are you?"

He kissed her. "I'm not going to let my aunt control my life. I want to help you take care of Ethan and also spend time with you. If you're happy, then so am I. I'm all about you and no one else."

* * *

_A/N: hey guys. this was the last chapter. hope you enjoyed it. i know i haven't update I'M RIGHT yet but im having major writer's block for that story. i've been thinking about ideas but they're for the end. i can't think of anything to happen before then. anyways, i deleted BEST FRIENDS...BUT that's only because i'm trying to get a Sarah story up where she's actually a good person. it might take a whilefor me to post because i want it to be good. if anyone has any ideas for either, let me know. they'll be appreciated. thanks to all who have reviewed. you're all amazing!_


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